Shatterproof Display Invented for Smartphones

Researchers have developed a technique that could make future smartphone screens shatterproof.

While most screens used today are fairly secure against light scratches and
scuffs, they do have a tendency to shatter at sometimes fairly light knocks.

University of Akron's polymer scientists now say that they have developed a
transparent electrode that could change the face of smartphones, literally, by
making their displays shatterproof.

In a recently published scientific paper, researchers demonstrated how a
transparent layer of electrodes on a polymer surface could be extraordinarily
tough and flexible, withstanding repeated scotch tape peeling and bending tests.

This could revolutionize and replace conventional touchscreens, according to
Yu Zhu, UA assistant professor of polymer science.

Novel and cost-effective

"These two pronounced factors drive the need to substitute ITO with a
cost-effective and flexible conductive transparent film," Zhu says, adding
that the new film provides the same degree of transparency as ITO, yet offers
greater conductivity. The novel film retains its shape and functionality after
tests in which it has been bent 1,000 times. Due to its flexibility, the
transparent electrode can be fabricated in economical, mass-quantity rolls.

"We expect this film to emerge on the market as a true ITO competitor,"
Zhu says. "The annoying problem of cracked smartphone screens may be solved
once and for all with this flexible touchscreen.

The team's findings are published in the American Chemical Society's
journal ACS Nano in the article titled "A Tough and High-Performance
Transparent Electrode from a Scalable and Transfer-Free Method."

This research was conducted by Zhu, UA graduate students Tianda He and Aozhen
Xia, and Darrell Reneker, distinguished professor of polymer science at UA.

Click on images to enlarge

A transparent layer of electrodes on a polymer surface could be extraordinarily tough and flexible

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